Elect Connie Woytowich To The School Board

Any of the candidates running for the three seats open on the Saratoga Springs Board of Education would serve the district well. It should be apparent that I prefer some to others, but all of them care deeply about our schools, and it is to their credit that they are willing to take on the very demanding job of being a School Board member. Voters will be able to vote for any three of the seven running this coming Tuesday, May 21.

I do have one candidate I especially support: Connie Woytowich.

Connie Woytowich has dedicated her professional life to secondary education. She has been a teacher for 19 years.

Connie holds four degrees and is a Master Teacher. According to the State University of New York which manages the Master Teacher Program, the program is a “statewide network of the highest-performing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) teachers dedicated to sharing their expertise with peers and attracting high school graduates to careers in STEM.”

Connie was also the president of the Division Street School PTA which has been designated a National PTA School of Excellence.

In 2017, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner honored her as a “Woman of Distinction” for her “Excellence in Education.”

I could go on about her many achievements, but if the reader wants to explore them more they can go to the earlier post where the candidates answered my questionnaire.

The central issue for me is that she is a person who truly understands what goes on in our schools from concrete, personal experience. She brings to the table a documented exceptional standard of teaching.

I have also found her to have a skill that seems all too rare these days: she listens.

Although Connie has many items on her platform (see earlier blog on candidate questionnaires) I should note that she supports re-arming the monitors with additional training, and she is able to present her arguments in a thoughtful way. While I agree with her arguments, I would have supported her even if she took a different position.

As noted at the beginning, we are fortunate to have a fine set of seven candidates to choose from to fill three seats on the Board . For qualifications and character Connie Woytowich is a clear choice for me.